T h e s e s i x l u x u r y g e taway s e a c h c e l e b r at e
r e a l e x p e r i e n c e s , d e e p e r b o n d s a n d b e tt e r l i v i n g
f o r t h e n e w y e a r . G o n o w. B e h a p p y.
Ph oto s b y Je n Ju d ge , Jo n W h it tl e a n d L o r i B a rb e ly
One blissful
escape: a villa on
Laucala in Fiji.
32
where is
bliss?
F i j i = L au c a l a I s l a n d
34 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om
where is
bliss?
36 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om 37
where is
bliss?
J a m a ic a = K a n o pi Ho u s e
Kanopi House’s
five treehouses are
wrapped so fully
in the Jamaican
jungle that they’re
invisible from the
air, the road and the
water. Yet father
and son can look
out and see more
than ever.
38 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om 39
where is
bliss?
40 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om 41
where is
bliss?
B e r m u da = C a m b r i d g e B e ac h e s R e s o r t
Delighting in Her Happy Day “Maybe these girls — with their color-coordinated
By Lori Barbely 1(! “so, what ar e the rules?”
My mom gives me that look only
“Tea?” I offer here on British soil.
Mom has other ideas. “Coffee?” Sure.
outfits and luxurious agendas — will also channel
a mother can. “I thought you knew.” We follow the wandering path the restorative.”
Playing croquet was my idea, but I through the precious pink cottages of
assumed my mom would know how. Cambridge Beaches Resort and arrive at
We settle on our own rules: smack- the main house. Afternoon tea (or cof-
ing balls around the manicured lawns, fee) is served on the wicker-furnished
attempting in vain to get them through sun porch, overlooking the infinity
the tiny wickets, whacking each other’s pool. The only thing that feels out of
balls into oblivion when they collide. place in the room is us. A tiny cucumber
Finally, I declare her the winner. sandwich ends up on the floor. Mom
We’re here to celebrate her birthday, d issolves into laughter as I glance
and I want to make it special. While I around, secretively placing the delicate
was growing up, she threw me count- sandwich into my linen napkin.
less birthday parties — roller skating, As we walk off the scone calories,
slumber parties, really whatever I we come across a red floor-to-ceiling
wanted. I always felt great, indulged. wall inscribed with hundreds of names. Cambridge
“Who are all these people?” she asks. Beaches show-
As if on cue, Richard, the general cases classic
Bermuda, from the
manager, appears in Bermuda shorts. dining to the high
“These are our repeat guests,” he says. tea to the sands,
“One has been here 88 times.” sounds and scoot-
ers that make the
I’m not sure if we’ll make the wall island so inviting.
when, an hour later, I’m yelling, “Paddle
harder!” Our kayak is drifting with the
wind away from the coastline we’re try-
ing to hug. Mom wanted to take out a
kayak. My shoulders now throb as I dig
in, trying to keep us on course.
“I’m paddling as hard as I can!” she
yells back. This doesn’t feel like a party.
Then we round the point and see
the beach we were sunning on earlier. I
don’t dare tell her I liked that better; I’m
afraid she’s thinking the same thing. But
she paddles with the wind now. “This is
nice,” she says, and suddenly, I feel great
again. Who’s indulging whom?
Too tired to embrace the luxurious
formality of Tamarisk, the resort’s signa-
ture restaurant, we eat on the beach, the
perfect reward for a hard day of relaxing.
The waiter serves our freshly grilled fish
as the sun sets. Mom asks, “Think we’ll
ever have our names on the wall?”
I hope so. | cambridgebeaches.com
42 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om 43
where is
bliss?
C a p r i = W i n d s ta r C ru i s e
Sailing Into
∏rue Blue
B y Ji m S c h u l e r
45
where is
bliss?
46 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om 47
where is
bliss?
P h i l i ppi n e s = A m a n p u l o
M au i = Ho t e l H a n a-M au i
Climbing the
Road to Heaven
By Adrienne Egolf
1(! Huelo Lookout
the hand-painted sign for
caught our atten-
tion before the view. Now we can see
jungle spreading out from the viewpoint,
green swaths punctuated with the reds,
yellows and blues from the sign, and
we’re happy we stopped — again. We’re
20 miles and one hour into a 52-mile
drive down the Hana Highway. My
husband and I are still soggy from this
morning’s dive at Molokini crater, and
our usual post-dive nap is calling. But
this is Maui; there’s a lot to see. So
instead of rushing to the end of this
well-worn road, my husband has pulled
over and snapped the camera every time
I’ve squealed over a dramatic cliff or a
colorful fruit stand. Until a question
occurs to him: “What’s at the end?” he
asks through a stifled yawn.
“What do you mean?” I reply. “It’s the
Road to Hana. Hana is at the end. Look!
Another waterfall!” He pulls over, again.
We don’t realize how much more there
is to Hana until we drive over the last of
the more than 54 one-way bridges. Our
legs are crumpled into car-seat-shaped
curls. Our eyes are weary from peering
around every corner for a better look.
Our stomachs growl, that last pineapple
shave ice now an hour-old memory.
Then the road widens. We pass a fire
Like a manicured station with one sleepy-looking engine,
oasis, the Hotel a primary school with a marquee boast-
Hana-Maui spreads
luxuriously across ing “In the Heart of Old Hawaii,” a bus-
the hills at the tling farmers market peddling bundles
end of the Road to of fruit and flowers. The marks of a
Hana. Don’t drive
back. Stay. small island town tell us we’ve arrived,
magnificently, in Hana. The queue of
50 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om 51
where is
bliss?
rented convertibles has thinned, dis- 1(! we sip organic dark-roast coffee and
persed among turns toward black-sand eat banana bread and fruit from nearby
beaches. Instead of high-rise resorts, We take in the Ono Organic Farms. The grounds are
there’s Hotel Hana-Maui blending seam-
lessly into the town. Its green plantation-
quiet, quaint glory. quiet, not just because it’s dawn, but
because everyone here is enjoying the
style cottages stand beside the Hana At the end of our same peaceful start to the morning.
Community Center, the municipal base-
ball field, the Hasegawa General Store
road trip, this place By the time the sun has risen fully,
we’ve made our plans for the day — hike
and the local church. So as we unfold is like heaven. And to Waimoku Falls, picnic at Hamoa
from the car and enter the resort’s open-
air lobby, we take in the town at once —
we have a room. Beach, stop at the town center to mail
postcards and browse the shops. It’s a
in all its quaint, quiet glory. At the end full agenda, with plenty more miles to
of our three-hour-plus road trip, this log and plenty more photos to take.
place is like heaven. And we have a room. on the slatted-wood porch, we survey the We stand up from our lounge chairs,
We’re led to an ocean-facing bunga- ocean as a canoe-load of local paddlers ready to break the morning’s spell. But
low, where we learn that a baseball team passes and a cluster of roosters crows in first, we stop and look around: A group
originally owned the property. Once the distance. The 47 photo-op stops and practicing yoga poses in the eastern-facing
just a warm destination for spring train- fruit-stand perusals were only buildup; Wellness Center Pavilion just up the hill.
ing, Hana became an annual vacation for this is why we drove all that way. A couple strolls hand in hand on the lawn
players and wives. Over time, six rooms The next day, I open my eyes to below, and unseen birds fill the coconut
turned into 70 bungalows, but the town the rising sun, as I have every morn- palms with a song. “Maybe one more cup
of less than 1,000 people stayed much ing since arriving on Maui. Except this of coffee?” my husband asks. I collapse
the same. The bellhop leaves us, now time there’s no alarm to switch off, no back in my chair and hold up my cup for a
decorated in matching kukui-nut leis and tour guide waiting for us, no schedule refill. When you wake up in heaven, even
refreshed with cool fruit drinks. Standing to keep. As the light floods our room, Maui can wait. hotelhanamaui.com
52 J a n u a r y / Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 isl a n d s . c om